Earlier this season, Larry Vickers Jr. led his HBCU squad to a rare SEC win against Auburn.
The long-time Norfolk State women’s head basketball coach is rumored to be the odds on favorite to take over the SEC program, according to a report by Mitchell Northam.
Those reports circulated hours before Vickers was set to lead the HBCU squad onto the homecourt of the Big Ten’s Maryland squad. The 13th seeded NSU squad fell 82-69 to Maryland on the road.
After the game, HBCU Gameday’s Jacobi Simmons asked Vickers about what was next for him.
The usually stoic Vickers struggled to find words.
“I haven’t talked to my team,” Vickers whispered into the microphone as he processed his emotions. “We all have visions and goals. I don’t know man…we’ll see.”
Larry Vickers’ tenure as head coach of the Norfolk State women’s basketball program has ushered in the most successful era in the program’s Division I history. Since taking over midway through the 2015-16 season, Vickers has transformed the Spartans into a perennial contender in the MEAC and a respected name in HBCU basketball.
Vickers enters the 2025-26 season with a career record of 177-99 and an 99-41 mark in MEAC play. His 2024-25 squad achieved a program-record 30-5 overall mark, including a perfect 16-0 record in MEAC play—Norfolk State’s first-ever unbeaten MEAC season since joining the conference in 1997. The Spartans won both the MEAC regular season and tournament championships, earning their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth as well as knocking off a pair of SEC squads Missouri and Auburn.
Under Vickers, Norfolk State has claimed three MEAC Tournament titles (2023, 2024, 2025), two MEAC regular season titles (2023, 2025), and produced multiple All-MEAC performers, including standouts such as Kierra Wheeler and Diamond Johnson. Vickers was twice named MEAC Coach of the Year and also earned HBCU National Coach of the Year honors by BOXTOROW in 2023.
Vickers’ teams have been defined by elite defense, consistently ranking among the nation’s best in field goal percentage defense, steals, and blocks. His squads have rewritten the NSU record book, both in wins and defensive efficiency. Notable highlights include a 15-game winning streak in 2025, a 21-point win over rival Hampton in 2020, and a MEAC title game appearance in 2019 that ended North Carolina A&T’s 28-game MEAC win streak.
Before taking over the women’s program, Vickers spent eight years with the NSU men’s team as an assistant and associate head coach, including during the Spartans’ historic NCAA upset of Missouri in 2012. A former NSU player himself, Vickers has become a cornerstone of Spartan basketball and a model of program-building success.
If Vickers is leaving his HBCU for the SEC after more than 20 years, he’s leaving it much better than he found it.
